Lead/Acid battery technology is not rocket science. Get the highest CCA and best warranty combination you can afford. CCA would be more important than warranty if you must make a compromise. A high CCA will have no affect on your starter life.

gator1939

 

After all the commercial hype, a battery is pretty much a battery. It can be new, dead on a shelf or in the case of my mother-in-law's Ford Escape, last nearly 11 years. There is no way to know up front. Higher prices buy better warranties so you are paying for a partial replacement up front with the original price. As said above, figure out what your wallet can handle and buy the best warranty you can afford. The expensive battery is much like the cheap battery except for the warranty.

 

This is my first battery I've had to buy. Im not sure about the higher prices better warranties cause optima's are a pretty penny but only offer a 3 year warranty as the Autozone battery offers 2 year full coverage and a 7 year pro rated warranty for half the price and I've heard many story's of optima's coming back blown up.

In my research, I found that Johnson Controls is one of the better battery manufacturers.

How do i know if the battery is made by that company?

yes, there are only few makers of batteries that make them and slap on a particular name brand label.

when you buy a battery, you want the freshest one possible. the battery warranty mind you is a "pro-rated" warranty in which some replacements are free with in the first year, then you pay a percentage of the cost for every year up to the warranty end. the replacement cost is low at first, then climbs each month (or year) you have it.

i have found that getting the highest cold cranking amps (CCA) to be important, no matter what part of the country you live in.

now also, if you plan on keeping the car for less than 2 years, then buy a 24 month battery, why pay more for a better one, when you will not own the car beyond that point. of course, if you plan on keeping the car for a very long time, then you want the 72 month battery (6 years). i do not know if there are batteries beyond 72 months (warranty that is)

i have found that Interstate is good, and i also like Exide as well. my experiences with these brands were great.

in the past, i liked Sears Die Hard and NEVER had a problem with those either.

i do not know if Auto Zone sells batteries with a totally free replacement warranty or not, but i once heard "some auto parts store" sold lifetime free replacement batteries. maybe someone here knows what store that was/is....

Well i plan on keeping this car till the wheels fall off as far i as know at the moment so i want a battery that will last. I was originally gonna buy the battery with the highest cca but just had to make sure it wasn't bad for my starter.

I've been using Costco batteries for a while. They generally are a good value and recommended by Consumer Reports.

Ive heard people say they are good but its just inconvenient for me to go there.

Johnson Controls makes about 8 out of 10 batteries in the US market. Chances are, whatever your "favorite" brand, it's really a Johnson Control battery with your brand's sticker on it.

Is there a way to tell?

 

In my research, I found that Johnson Controls is one of the better battery manufacturers.

 

yes, there are only few makers of batteries that make them and slap on a particular name brand label.

when you buy a battery, you want the freshest one possible. the battery warranty mind you is a "pro-rated" warranty in which some replacements are free with in the first year, then you pay a percentage of the cost for every year up to the warranty end. the replacement cost is low at first, then climbs each month (or year) you have it.

i have found that getting the highest cold cranking amps (CCA) to be important, no matter what part of the country you live in.

now also, if you plan on keeping the car for less than 2 years, then buy a 24 month battery, why pay more for a better one, when you will not own the car beyond that point. of course, if you plan on keeping the car for a very long time, then you want the 72 month battery (6 years). i do not know if there are batteries beyond 72 months (warranty that is)

i have found that Interstate is good, and i also like Exide as well. my experiences with these brands were great.

in the past, i liked Sears Die Hard and NEVER had a problem with those either.

i do not know if Auto Zone sells batteries with a totally free replacement warranty or not, but i once heard "some auto parts store" sold lifetime free replacement batteries. maybe someone here knows what store that was/is....

 

I've been using Costco batteries for a while. They generally are a good value and recommended by Consumer Reports.

 

Wallmart one is good by CR and personal experience.

 

I was just wondering if anyone had experience with Walmart batteries.

Optima has a certain mystique about it because of the unique case design. They come back blown up because due to the mystique, guys who run large audio systems tax them to the max, put a lot of amperage through them, and well, they can't take it any better than a simple old black case battery.

Just go get a battery. It will cost you from $90-105 right now, with some additional charges for recycling the old battery and taxes. The new battery will last anywhere from 6 weeks to 10 years.

My friend works at a Auto store he said they come back blown up from simple usage ive heard alotta mixed reviews on that so i guess ima just go and buy the one i originally wanted and hopefully i don't get the 6 week one.

Thanks!

 

Optima has a certain mystique about it because of the unique case design. They come back blown up because due to the mystique, guys who run large audio systems tax them to the max, put a lot of amperage through them, and well, they can't take it any better than a simple old black case battery.

Just go get a battery. It will cost you from $90-105 right now, with some additional charges for recycling the old battery and taxes. The new battery will last anywhere from 6 weeks to 10 years.

 

To me all batteries are about the same VIP, Advanced Auto Parts, Auto Zone, Walmart, Sears, etc…(besides the way overpriced made in the usa - Optima) Definatley go with the highest product in the battery class (some are gold other's are platium… but this group usually says the battery is good for 84 months) NOW... the only thing is, who has the best price. Every few weeks/months either VIP/Auto Zone/Advance Auto Parts/Pet Boys... etc... will have a $25 of $100 coupon or a $20 off $100 coupon etc... I purchased a battery from advaced auto parts like six months ago... got 20% off from Bing (no long doing this) and was able to use a $25 off $100 coupon.. Battery regular price was $94.99 and purchased something for $5.00 and I ended up paying... $55.00 for the battery and a five dollar item. The point is look for a deal. Good Luck.

 

I get 20% off everything from Autozone. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the heads up!

 

here you go, who makes what for whom.....

http://www.cartechbooks.com/vstore/showdetl.cfm?st=0&st2=0&st3=0&CATID=21&Product_ID=3659&DID=6




Brand Manufacturer
ACDelco
Johnson Controls
Advance Auto
Johnson Controls
AutoCraft Johnson Controls
Autolite Exide
AutoZone Johnson Controls
Bosch Johnson Controls
Champion Johnson Controls
Costco Johnson Controls
Delco Johnson Controls
Delco-Remy
Exide
DieHard Johnson Controls
Duralast Johnson Controls
Duralast Johnson Controls
Equalizer Johnson Controls
EverStart (Wal-Mart) Exide or Johnson Controls, depending on model
Firestone Johnson Controls
Interstate Johnson Controls
Marathon Exide
Motorcraft Johnson Controls
NAPA Exide
Optima Johnson Controls
Orbital Exide
Pep Boys Johnson Controls
Sears Exide or Johnson Controls, depending on model

Wal-Mart Exide or Johnson Controls, depending on model

 

well i'll tell you something about that.....many years ago, long before many of you were ever born, i turned wrenches. back in THOSE DAYS, we had to fill the batteries with the acid, then put a charge on them for about 1 hour (or so)......

later on, "semi-maintenance free" cane along......they would sit on the self from "date of birth" till sales day....then they were just put into the cars......sometimes, if a battery didn't sell in a months time, the battery dealer (interstate in this example) would rotate my stock with that of fresh batteries then take mine to a shop that sold them faster.

later on, fully-maintenance free batteries came out, same scenario, shelf, to car.....

i found that before selling any battery, no matter how long they were made or sat on the shelf, a quick charge of about 15 minutes to 30 minutes the battery was 100% up to charge, and MORE reliable.

as ANY battery sits on a shelf, even "D" sized flashlight batteries, they slowly lose thier charge...

when you install a new battery in your car, that has already lost some of its charge, then you start it up, draining even MORE volts from it, the alternator will almost NEVER fully recharge that battery to 100% capacity...

so when you buy a battery, ask them for a quick 15 to 30 minute charge......if they don't do it, then either find a store that will or when you take it home, do it yourself......

you want to see any where's from 12.5 to nearly 14 volts on a new battery off the shelfs....

 

as ANY battery sits on a shelf, even "D" sized flashlight batteries, they slowly lose thier charge...

While that is true, alkalines are not as nearly as bad as lead acid batteries. The difference is about an order of magnitude. Lead acid batteries require a maintenance charge at least once every six months, but alkalines are shelf stable for years (not that most of them can be recharged anyhow).

 

I buy Interstate batteries.

 

Interstate is a very good battery made by Johnson Controls Inc. Autozone batteries (Duralast or Duralast Gold, not the cheap Valucraft) and some Walmart batteries are JCI as well. I think Costco batteries are also JCI.

I tend to stay away from Exide batteries.

 

Since Advanced is an authorized dealer of Optima batteries and they weren't helping you why didn't you speak directly with Optima? The 3yr warranty was Optima's warranty anyway. They probably would've sent you another one and asked you to send the bad one back to honor their warranty even though Advanced was being a pain about it.

 

In November's issue of Consumer Reports, they reviewed car batteries. For the type 35 (used in most Toyota's, Honda's, Subaru's, and Nissan's), they listed 10 batteries that were tested. Five of these were recommended with three of them rated a 'best buy'. The best buy's were:

EverStart Maxx-35N (CCA-640) (Walmart - Northern USA) $75
Kirkland Signature 12865 (CCA-640) (Costco only) $60
EverStart Maxx-35S (CCA-550) (Walmart - southern USA) $75
​

The other two batteries recommended – but not best buy were:

Bosch Premium Power 35-640B (CCA-640) (PepBoys) $90
NAPA legend Premium 8435 (CCA-600) (NAPA only) $90​

...price is approximate retail rounded to nearest $5 and may or may not include installation.

 

Wal-mart installs for free and Costco does not do installs. But the battery is easy enough to change in the parking lot to return for core.

 

Johnson Controls makes Kirkland battery's and Ive heard great reviews about them they also make tons of other battery's so bought a Duralast with 2 year full replacement with 7 year prorated warranty.

 

Duralast Red top with the 2/7 warranty is a great value. Plus they can be checked/replaced at any of the Autozone stores.

 

I only got 2-3 years out from Duralast battries. Red and gold tops, but it's nice that Autozone refunded me the different (prorated) and I got another brand...O'reilly SuperStart :ugh3:.

:lol: Every auto part stores here have another one across the street. There's a corner where Parts Plus, O'reilly, and Autozone are within a 100 yards to each others.

 

I only got 2-3 years out of Duralast battries. Red and gold tops, but it's nice that Autozone refunded me the different (prorated) and I got another brand...O'reilly SuperStart :ugh3:.

Well i needed a new battery before winter hit hard. Hopefully i have a better experience with them. I only got around 2-3 years with my oem battery but that thing was leaking badly and corroding everything.

 

Also, just if anyone else is changing their battery. Some Gen 5 2002-2004 Camry acts a bit weird after a replacing the battery. It would forget how to idle and stall, but after a few miles of driving, it returns to normal. I know because my grandmother has a Gen 5. There's a few threads on this issue on TN too.

 

Hey guys, so i need a new battery cause the oem battery is leaking crazy... i was reading through the forum and seeing people having mixed idea about a good battery? what brand specific would you recommend? I on the other hand was thinking of buying optima as i hear its maint. free... what you think?

Thanks

 

A very large portion of all car batteries sold in the US under various brands are made by a company called Johnson Controls. Last I heard, they have something like 160 plus different brands that are actually the same battery under the different colored plastic cases and fancy labels. There are only a few major manufacturers.

I say buy one where it's convenient and you know you can get it warranted if it ever needs replacing.

 

On page 1 of this thread is a listing of who makes which brands.

I don't have the exact figures but it is my feeling that 90% of the batteries on the market today are 'maintenance free'. It is not something that is a closely guarded secret or feature.

gator1939

 

using EveryStart-Walmart brand,on both my cars,my brother using it too on his cars. oldest battery lasted 6+ years and I traded car with it!

 

Thanks everyone for the info. ill be making a stop at an Oreilly Parts tomorrow cause I have a friend that works there. yeah i hate these batteries that leak, had a 2000 tundra before and it did the same, but bought a walmart brand battery and it sorta leaked too. :facepalm: Cant recall the brand but it had a yellow casing...

Thanks again, ill let you know what my final purchase was.. :thumbsup:

 

All the "traditional" wet cell lead acids leak (vent). Unless it's a "maintenance free" battery like AC Delco (one of my faves). And I don't mean just slapping a "maintenance free" label on any traditional lead acid. The higher calcium (?) grid alloy and other special construction made them gas much less. But AC Delcos are hard to find these days.

O'Reilly may be carrying the East Penn Mfg. batteries. Don't know much about them. At least they're not Exide batteries. I personally don't like Exides (frequent internal shorts).

 

So my final purchase was a brand called Super Start from Kragen/Oreilly, wanted to go with optima, ended up not fitting so went with Super Start with a 3yr free replacement and 84mnth p/r.... thanks guys for the info i think this will do for now....

Some batteries to look into that might be interesting....
Power Fram (JC) new...
XS power.... maybe for audio guys buts its AGM

 

The reasons most batteries are black is because they are considered a BLACK BOX.
Sooo to unravel the mistery you need to use a hygometer to accurately measure the state of charge on a GOOD battery. Another way to tell what a GOOD battery is doing is with a volt meter. Start with a new GOOD battery, fully charge it, wait till it is cooled to a known temp them measure volts. Usually 12.75 to 12.8v. Now in a few years when there are black box questions U have a benchmark to compare to. When black box does not hold a charge above 12.4 time to start shopping. When black box is discharged below 12 v permanent damage results. My experience is once or twice just reduces the life. Keep doing the discharge to the battery and eventually it will not charge up because a cell is shorted. Now when you have a well used battery and need to find out the cc ..... load tests must be performed. On a tired battery this too causes some life loss, which explains why this style of destructive testing should be avoided if possibe, but some makers insist before replacing. Usually black boxes are like cars trim levels so the blacker the box usually the heavier the battery, indicating more lead and better vibration resistance construction. Thats why if you are keeping it around buy the blacker box usually labeled professional series or som other more expensive sounding name. If you shop price only without considering how black the box is you will be disappointed when the battery gets tired and you visit the cold north in winter. I could go on but the last point is care of the charging circuit... check that the volts are correct.. too low 13.5 and it will not charge, and too high 15 v and it will eventually boil the batt and shorten the recovery time. (give you volts but not give you usable cranking amps). Good luck with your black box purchase. ( I like AC delco professional series (larger version) for great performance and Everready Wally Mart for price and good performance.

 

Hello, I noticed your conversation and wanted to offer some assistance. There is a lot of information to cover, so I apologize for the length of my response. Jon, to answer your original question regarding cold cranking amps, you do not need to be concerned about a battery with high cold cranking amps shortening the life of your starter. Cold cranking amps are an important consideration if you live somewhere cold, but less of a consideration in more temperate climates. The important thing to look for in cranking amps is a battery that meets or exceeds the specifications for your engine.

Reserve capacity and deep-cycle capability may also be an important consideration for those who run significant electrical accessories, like winches or large stereos. There is also a significant difference in performance and longevity between flooded and AGM lead-acid batteries, which is also reflected in a difference in price. The internal resistance of our batteries is very low and gives the design the ability to quickly withdraw high power on discharge and subsequently, to quickly return the power on charge. When any battery is overcharged with high-amperage, unregulated chargers (like a 200-amp shop charger), they can vent gas or worse. However, the “sealed” design of AGM batteries will greatly reduce the chance of a battery leaking or venting.

Many of the “bad” batteries returned to us under warranty are just deeply-discharged and work fine, when properly-recharged. Unfortunately, many battery chargers will not recognize or charge any battery that has been discharged below a certain voltage threshold (usually around 10.5 volts). This is a charger issue and not unique to Optima. In fact, some battery companies have dealt with this by simply voiding the warranty of any battery deemed to be “over-discharged” below a certain voltage level. We decided a better option was to create this video which explains how to recharge deeply-discharged batteries with a parallel charging technique.

It is standard practice for all battery manufacturers to “charge and check” batteries returned under warranty, as many of these batteries do end up simply being deeply-discharged. This happens en masse in the springtime, when people are bringing boats and summer cars out of storage. These procedures generally involve an attempt to fully-charge a battery and then load testing it. If you are concerned about the health of your battery, many battery specialists can perform a load-test for a minimal charge and some will even offer it for free.

The free replacement warranty on all consumer RedTops and YellowTops is three years, with no pro-ration. However, if any battery fails from a manufacturing defect, it is likely to do so well within the first year, if not the first month. The list of manufacturers Glenn provided is not current and changes fairly regularly. Optima is owned by Johnson Controls, but we manufacture all of our own batteries, in our own facility. While other brands of batteries may also have colored lids and be generically referred to as “YellowTops” or “RedTops,” we never re-brand or re-spec our batteries for any retailer.

Glenn does offer good advice about making sure a battery is fully-charged. All battery retailers are supposed to check and maintain voltage in their inventory and for the most part, that is the case. However, with millions of batteries being sold every year, it is impossible to make sure than happens with 100% certainty. Fully-charged, our RedTops should measure approximately 12.6-12.8 volts and our YellowTops should measure approximately 13.0-13.2 volts. I cannot speak for other manufacturers, but I had never heard that the blacker the box, the heavier the battery. The opposite is actually the case for Optima batteries. Our batteries with light-gray cases (all YellowTops and most BlueTops) are dual-purpose, starting and deep-cycle batteries, designed and warrantied for those applications. All RedTops and 34M BlueTops are starting batteries, as indicated by dark gray cases. Those batteries are not designed or warrantied for deep-cycle applications and are physically lighter than their deep-cycle group size counterparts. If anyone has any questions about our batteries, I'll do my best to answer them.


Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries